I started walking down the hall until I came to a large door with two guards. I showed my ID Pass. He gave me a brief nod and opened the door.
A large room with blue walls and wide glass windows welcomed me. "It's even bigger." There is a long table in the middle surrounded by thirty-two chairs, two on both ends and fifteen chairs on each side. There is a large board behind the person in front of the table. Aside from that man, there are twenty-five others in the room.
In total, we were all twenty-seven.
I sat in the last seat on the left side of the table. The man sitting at the far end of the table is wearing a Cleanly -ironed business suit and his grayish hair is combed back. He's probably the one handling the meeting, which means the other twenty-five are players like me.
The other person came up to me, "Who is he?" I immediately turned my attention to the man towards my behavior.
"Aero?" He asks, "Vince?" I asked back. "Are you a pro gamer too?" I was there when the door suddenly opened and five people entered.
"Now, now, dear streamers, may I have your attention?" he prefaced and tapped the board. It switched on to reveal the MO symbol and rules. "I won't tell you the game description again, because I know that you have already studied it. You won't be at the top of the streaming chain if you don't study your game."
He was right. It's our second nature to study in advance the genre and possible nature of the game.
Based on the email sent, the game progresses to the completion of tasks. It's not the usual MMORPG game where leveling up and questing is the main goals. Here to complete a quest, we need to complete what the Floor requires.
"And so, I'll proceed to explain how the game work and your role in this program. We've handpicked five hundred players to be our beta-tester, from pro-gamers to uprising players. Those who have played games for a long time and those who are new in this society. All genders and with a variety of ages. A diversity of gamers! In order to create a fair and working critique and feedback for our game, "
So they must have divided the gamers in this building too. And the crowd in the left corridor is the one that the players haven't known for a long time. All those who are staying in this corridor, however, are content creators or pro-gamers.
"like we implied, you will be beta-testing this game. You'll be actively engaging in this program and will give your honest thoughts afterwards."
The man pushed a button and part of our table opened. A small rectangular box rose up from the table. Here are the various Virtual Gear and there is a vital sign wristband ring.
"This is one of the virtual reality games being produced today. The wristband has also been placed to observe and study your emotions during the game. You will try it out when the explanation is over."
'So this beta-testing is not as boring as I thought.' happily I said to myself.
We nodded in the room.
"You have to complete a floor to proceed to the other one. That means each floor has a task you must perform. It can be killing two titans or simply killing a slime. If you have not left the time limit given, you have to wait until the next time limit comes. "
So in other words, we are more stuck on the floor where you are until you finish the quest and can move the floor again.
"There are a total of fifty Floors. You will be able to complete the game once you reach the fifty one. For the Beta-tester, we'll award you with anew set of the latest gaming and streaming equipment, the game's official merchandise and equipment's plus a monetary reward of five hundred thousand pesos- "
Our eyes widened because of that. Five hundred thousand pesos as a payment for being a beta-tester in addition to the equipment's ?! Isn't that too much?
"Once you complete the game." he added.
"Question." we immediately looked at the woman on the left side. "When are you the top three who finish to get the reward?"
The man shook his head. "No you just have to complete the whole game to get the reward."
Our jaw dropped. We only have to complete the game to get the high reward ?! won't they lose it? There are five hundred gamers here and probably a hundred are going to complete it.
'Do they really have confidence in the game and act like this?'
"That's absurd!" Shout of the man in right side. "You're giving us that much of a money just for completing the game?"
The smiling man nodded. "Of course. But that is if you CAN complete the game."
I was momentarily nervous because of the hint I heard from what he said.
"Now the floor are not just randomized quest floors. We want our beta-tester to enjoy and learn games, so we apply the elements of a game in MO. That's one thing you should always remember. I know you're aware of what an alliance mean. It's similar to a guild but this has a larger member count. "
"You can form an alliance with whoever you want. There is no required level or in-game money. The Score Board is used as a rank board. The points earned by the players will be displayed here. Your point can grant benefits. If you have the Emblems, you get fifty points. "
We just nodded, that's five times the amount of floor completion.
"Emblems are Yellow, with a small skulls hidden around the floor. The Battle Points will only count once a player r an alliance has moved floor."
That means the Emblem can be stolen as long as the holder haven't crossed floor.
"If an alliance is in possession of an Emblem, every member will get one, however the leader can deduct points from the member with less contribution." the man looked up. "I guess that's it. Does anyone have any question?"
I raised my hand. "How long will this last?"
The man smiled mysteriously. "It depends on how fast you can complete the game."
"Tch." Vince clicked his neck. "Lets get this over with. I have a family lunch to attend."
"Well then, please put on your wristband and gears so that we can start."
I watched the companions wear the things on the table. I gulped and tried to take the head gear. I'm kind of doubting this. I have a bad feeling.
"Mister Velez, is everything alright?"
I turned to the old man when he called my name. It seemed like I'm the last person to put on my gear. They have all entered.
I nodded in response and followed them into the game. Black surrounded me. Suddenly, a rush of letters cam in front of me.
This is the Machi Online. A place to see different floors.
Name: Aero John Velez
Age: 18
Date of Birth: August 25
Nickname: John
TechLive Handle: BlueFin